A long and compressed body with a wide head and large equally wide mouth. The fins are short, the dorsal being pointed and the caudal being forked. The dorsal and pectoral fins have spines which means they can get caught up and tangled in fish nets. This fish has 4 sets of barbels around the mouth. The body is pale yellow/brown in colour with large dark irregular blotches across the whole body. The caudal fin is pale with two dark bands on either lobe from the peduncle to the tip. This colouration provides perfect camouflage when hiding in tree roots and wood.